"It feels so wrong interviewing an up-and-coming rapper in a coffee shop overlooking the sparkling ocean.
But focusing on hip hop's gritty urban roots is a problem for me, not the poor guy I'm teasing.

"You're name's Brett; you live near the beach; you're from Orange County," I say, disregarding hip hop's diversity, O.C.'s musical range and my own code against stereotyping.
Startled, Brett Guidry looks up from his coffee and catches my smile. I quickly add, "Good thing your music's good."
And it's a good thing Guidry, a.k.a. MC Imprint, is as cool as ice.
Being a musician is a tough road. And it's not any easier when a columnist ignores that art isn't a state of place but a state of grace – especially for a rapper who narrowly escaped a prison sentence.
If keeping it real is what hip hop's about, then Guidry has a promising career.
Consider this lyric from his song, "Dancing in the Shadows," a rap about battling addiction after his father's death: "It's sickening to think of me stickin' a needle in my arm just trying to get lifted.""
To read full story, Hit the link below.